Right-hander Josh Collmenter will try to sustain the recent Arizona pitching momentum on Monday night, when the Diamondbacks host the Washington Nationals in game one of a three-game series at Chase Field.
Arizona has been dreadful through its first 18 dates at home, winning just three times while posting an earned run average of 5.36 that's worst in the majors. Still, the Diamondbacks enter the series after winning six times on a nine-game road trip, during which the staff compiled a 3.45 ERA.
Collmenter allowed five runs on 5 2/3 innings of his most recent start, a no- decision at Milwaukee in which Arizona came back to win, 7-5.
He has pitched six innings and allowed three earned runs or less one time in five starts.
In three career meetings with Washington, he's tossed nine scoreless innings and given up five hits.
The Nationals lost another bat over the weekend when first baseman Adam LaRoche was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right quad. He was hitting .319 with five home runs and joins teammates Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman as unavailable.
Washington is 2-6 in its last eight games and has scored just 16 runs.
Taking the mound amid that tumult is righty Jordan Zimmermann, who's been superb in his last five starts while posting a stingy 1.78 ERA and winning two of three decisions.
He's tossed 10 1/3 scoreless innings and had four scoreless against the Los Angeles Dodgers last Monday before a rain delay cut short his outing.
In one career start in Arizona, Zimmermann was a 6-1 winner after allowing a single run and six hits in seven innings.
Washington has won eight of the last 11 games between the teams.
On Sunday in Oakland, Derek Norris recorded his first multi-homer game and drove in a career-high six runs to help the Athletics complete a three-game sweep of the Nationals with a 9-1 win.
Gio Gonzalez (3-3) made his return to Oakland and was roughed up for seven runs on nine hits with four strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings. Gonzalez spent his first four major league seasons with Oakland and compiled a 38-32 record with a 3.93 ERA before being dealt to Washington in 2011.
Jayson Werth had two hits and Zach Walters had the lone RBI for Washington.
In Chicago, Chase Anderson allowed just one run while striking out six in his major league debut and the Diamondbacks took the rubber match of a three-game set with the White Sox, 5-1.
Anderson (1-0) dazzled in his first career start, exiting with one out in the sixth inning with a 3-1 advantage. He kept his pitch count low and had White Sox hitters for the most part off-balance, keeping them scoreless through five before serving up Moises Sierra's sixth-inning homer. Anderson was charged with a run on two hits in the triumph.
Gerardo Parra and Miguel Montero each stroked a two-run homer for the D'backs.
[SportsNetwork.com]
